Once again, I’m no social scientist. This is an anecdotal view of our history through the lens of my experience and the family into which I was born. I’ve already noted the impact of World War II on my life. I had a sense that it was a unifying moment. We won the war. “They” were the Germans and Japanese then the Russians and Chinese. We, America, all of us, prevailed. We fought communism. We created a global economy. We were prosperous.

Yesterday, I mentioned the loss of that collective feeling in Congress and the rise of partisanship. Partly, I think, attributed to the loss of those leaders with memory of the war and the collective spirit it engendered. Another contributing factor, however, probably was the rise of those in our midst who didn’t feel like part of the whole because of they way they were treated—blacks, gays, women. Personally, I’ve only felt persecuted twice and it never felt life-threatening. I’m Catholic and John Kennedy had to jump through a lot of hoops to prove he was worthy to be president. He won, and Catholics were cool. In the 70s I had long hair, was called a girl, and got stopped by the police because I might have drugs. Now marijuana is being rescheduled, it’s legal in lots of states, and no one cares how long my hair is.

But the fight for all those rights meant people took sides. The antiwar movement didn’t help much. You had to love America or leave it as if it were unamerican to protest a war, which it was to some folks. And talk about DeJa’Vu, today’s news brings back a lot of memories. Different topic but same response. Police. I wish we could find a way to start talking to one another without the threat of violence, but having enemies helps win elections so here we stand, taking sides, waving flags, and talking about “those people.” Feels pretty sad, actually.

Part 9, Living in America, An Old Man’s Journey into His Past